Did upskirt picture taker break the law?

Last Edited: Tuesday, 21 Aug 2007, 7:07 PM EDT

Created: Tuesday, 21 Aug 2007, 7:07 PM EDT

Lawyers say Florida's voyeur law is vague on public picture taking. Videos BRADENTON - In a busy store, with people all around, you wouldn't expect to be violated. But police say Keith Wilson did violate a woman when he walked up behind her, and snapped a picture up her skirt with his cell phone. He's been charged with a misdemeanor count of voyeurism, but Wilson's lawyer says his client did nothing wrong. Attorney William Price is ready to fight the charge. He says there's no expectation of privacy in a public place. "The question is not whether it's okay or not okay. The question is whether it's prescribed by the law," said Price. Price says there are private places within a public place - like a dressing room or a rest room - but he says 'aisle 5' is fair game. And, Price says a 6-year-old case in Washington State, backs him. "The Supreme Court of Washington State said 'We don't approve of this activity from an ethical point of view - however this law doesn't prohibit it.' Washington state lawmakers changed the law after that case, but the Florida Legislature has not. You're calling it a loophole, I'm telling you it's statutory construction," he said. Paul Hudson is an attorney and former prosecutor. He says its not so much the letter of the law, but the intent. "There is an expectation of privacy under a dress. People want to feel like they're safe going into stores and people not looking up their clothing, so I think it hits home to a lot of people," said Hudson. Who's right and who's wrong will be up to a judge to decide. The trial is set to begin September 10 in Manatee County Court in front of Judge George Brown.